Cooney wants public backing for Rules Series

GAA President Christy Cooney is hopeful that the public will once again get behind the International Rules Series when it resumes in October.

Last year the visit of Australia to Ireland for the games was postponed due to the world economic situation, which prompted the AFL to ask the GAA to defer the series for 12 months.

"I would hope that it will be an extremely sporting (contest), quality games, large attendances," said Cooney, who was speaking at today's launch of the 2010 GAA Legends All-Ireland Charity Golf Inter-County Championships.

"In fairness to the supporters, a lot of them have attended these games in their thousands, every time we have a game we have full houses."

The first Test will take place in Limerick's Gaelic Grounds on October 23 and Cooney says that the GAA will help Limerick GAA to promote the event in both local schools and clubs.

"I think it will be a massive boost for the GAA in Limerick, and I hope it is and it gets a full house at the Gaelic Grounds with 50,000 people.

"We will do a lot of work there prior to that with schools and with clubs and then we hope we have a tremendous, titanic struggle down there in Limerick and we end up with a full house here (Croke Park) for the second leg to decide who is going to win the tournament.

"All in all, the most important thing is that they are sporting, quality games and everybody gets great enjoyment out of it," he added.

Back in 2008 there were concerns over indiscipline in previous series, but this failed to unfold with two sporting encounters Down Under.

Cooney is hopeful that the sporting nature of those ties will continue in this year's games.

"The games that were played in Australia the last time (2008) were played in a very sporting (manner) and I am sure there will be a continuation of that again.

"That's what both associations want and it's important that we would get that."

The Cork native believes that the International Rules Series has a bright future and confirmed that the GAA and the AFL will sit down and review their plans for the competition after the 2010 series.

"Spectators enjoy it and players love to play it because it gives them international recognition," he said.

"It can be a great spectacle, but then we have had the other side of it when discipline hasn't been as good as it should be.

"So if it works well, and the competition in played in the manner we all would like, then I have no difficulty is supporting it. If it's not, then I would have quite a different view."